Why Do We Have Allergies?
Why do we get allergies? No one has a firm answer, but what is arguably the leading theory suggests that allergies are a misfiring of a defence against parasitic worms. In the industrialised world, where such infections are rare, this system reacts in an exaggerated fashion to harmless targets, making us miserable in the process.
[Ruslan] Medzhitov thinks that’s wrong. Allergies are not simply a biological … [ Read more ]
Author: Carl Zimmer | Source: Mosaic (April 6, 2015) | Subjects: Articles & Links, Excerpts, Health & Medicine